The Cathedral of St. John the Divine could become a landmark under a deal between the church, Community Board 9 and developers of a new 14-story building set to be built alongside the cathedral.

Community Board 9 approved a resolution asking the Landmarks Preservation Commission to landmark the entire cathedral campus with an exception for a 14-story, 428-unit apartment building. Revenue from that project will fund church repairs, upgrades and ongoing operations. The 121-year-old cathedral is in need of millions of dollars in repairs and upgrades.

Previously the church leased land on 110th Street and Morningside Avenue to the developers who built Avalon Morningside Park, a 20-story luxury apartment building, in 2007 that includes 20 percent affordable housing.

The area from the church eastward towards Frederick Douglass Circle is part of what is known as “Gateway To Harlem”, which continues to undergo dramatic change, and into what some are now calling SOHA (South Harlem).

Already a fan of HGTV’s “Selling New York”, “House Hunters” and “House Hunters International” we are especially looking forward to seeing “our Harlem” represented on this new episode of Selling New York. FYI, this is the third time Harlem has been represented on Selling New York. We here at HarlemCondoLife are not at all surprised to see more attention coming to Harlem.

With rooftop views of Manhattan like this it is easy to understand why the Gateway Tower is 90 percent sold. We were recently informed by a Halstead Broker that they are very pleased to announce only 10 percent of the units remain in the Gateway complex. Sales are doing very well in this slowly climbing economy. I am told that affordable housing units were sold in the Gateway as well which is a good thing for the Harlem community at large.

The Gateway also includes retail spaces. The businesses that have already opened are thriving and soon to open on the 114th Street corner (where the old Society Cafe space was) will be “Frederick Cafe Bistro” by the already very successful owners of Bier International.

Looking forward to following up on the status of Gateway after witnessing a very slow start with this development. Nice to see things moving along positively for The Gateway Tower at a successful pace.

For more information about Harlem please also see www.HarlemTrends.com.

Last week NY1 showed an entire segment on the renewed energy on Frederick Douglasss Boulevard between 110th and 124th streets. Businesses and residents working together to make the strip a destination for all of the neighborhoods shopping needs. They quote “What you’re now seeing is Frederick Douglass Boulevard is really becoming sort of the Gateway to Harlem“. A phrase we developed here at HarlemCondoLife “Your Gateway To Harlem” when we created our site. They go on to mention some of the businesses on the Boulevard including Bier International, Harlem Flo, Harlem Vintage, MCMB Cleaners, The 5 and Diamond Restaurant, Nectar,Lido Restaurant and Bar all of which we have mentioned and reviewed here at HCL. They also include short interview clips with owners Jai Jai Greenfield of Harlem Vintage, Louis Gagliano of Harlem Flo, Marcelo Orbe of MCMB Cleaners and Selene Martinez of 5 and Diamond. Here is a link to the video clip NY1 video clip.

This area continues to stay in the news and get more recognition. Congratulations to the businesses mentioned in this report and to all of the businesses on FDB and the surrounding area.

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